Desperados
by RichaCo
Summary: A tale of gunslingers in the old west, featuring a large cast from different games and animes. Horrible summary, good story!
1. Chapter 1

This is a multi-crossover fanfiction featuring Inuyasha, Shadow, Sly Cooper, and several over famous faces. I won't give it all away, but I hope that you enjoy this. It's my first attempt at a western-themed story as well.

Desperados

Chapter 1: They all cometh

Ah, the old west… a time of lawlessness and shamelessness, where men were either the keepers of peace or the bringers of havoc. Then there are those that don't belong to either side. These people are either mercenaries, people who will take any job from any person for money, and outlaws, people who go outside the law for their own purposes, but never for purposeful wrongs. All four categories were plentiful, but very few in any group managed to distinguish themselves the way that these people did.

The town of Dusty Falls was quaint and quiet. No one ever really passed through there and those that did were never there long enough to be noticed. Today, that changed. Two figures on horseback rode through the town gates, though this didn't really distract the locals from continuing their current way of simplicity. The first man looked ordinary enough, but he wore no hat and sported a pair of dog-like ears on top of his head and silver hair that flowed down his back. His garb was bright red leather hide and he had two standard six-shooters in holsters at his side with a bag of extra bullets next to each. He also carried a large shotgun on a holster on his back and, probably the oddest thing that he carried, was a noose. It was the standard hanging noose used on those who did wrong and were actually foolish enough to let themselves be caught. What he was doing with something like that on his person was a mystery since rope was plentiful and it wasn't difficult to make a new noose. His golden eyes scanned the dusty road along the town and he pulled his horse up next to a saloon.

The second man was a raccoon anthro, and was dressed in mostly blue. His shoes were nothing more than pads applied to the feet, which made it very difficult to hear him when he stepped. His ringed tail swished back and forth as he rode his horse over to his partner. He carried an oddly shaped cane in one hand and at his side sat a modified version of a gatling gun. Usually heavy and cumbersome, this one had been modified so that it only had three barrels, as opposed to the usual eight, and it had been sawed down so that it was about half the length of a normal gatling. It still fired rapidly, but it didn't waste ammo as much as a normal gatling and because it was smaller, he didn't need to set it on a stand to aim it.

Both men tied their horses off and the raccoon looked at the silver-haired man. "Inuyasha, this town is pretty out of the way. Are you sure we'll pick up any information here?"

The man he had addressed as Inuyasha turned to him and sighed. "Sly, I'm not passing up a single chance to try and get some information here. Besides, we could both use a bit of a meal. Besides, if this town is out of the way, that means there's less of a chance the law enforcement will have heard of us here."

Sly chuckled a bit. "You got me there. Though I do wonder if Carmelita will pop up again. She's been on our tail for months now, right?"

Inuyasha grunted. "I don't see why you're so obsessed with that bitch. She did aim a bayonet at your head."

Sly nodded. "And a rifle… and a six-shooter… and a full-sized gatling gun, but I prefer to forgive and forget."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and walked up to the saloon door, Sly following them. As they entered, they found the place rather small compared to other places they had been in. Four tables and a few bar stools. Only two of the tables were full and a third one was half full. No one paid them any mind as they walked towards the bar and took a seat. Sly tapped his finger against bar and cleared his throat. "Moonshine for me."

Inuyasha grunted as the bartender turned to him. "Same here… by the way, you haven't happened to heard of someone by the name of Naraku coming through here, have you?"

The bartender shook his head as he filled two large glasses with the strong moonshine beverage. "Nope, can't say that I've heard of him."

Sly nodded. "I told you no one would know here, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha growled at his friend and picked up his mug, taking a large gulp of the liquid. It stung the back of his throat, but he endured and took a second gulp right after the first. "Big deal, so what? We'll run into that bastard sooner or later."

The bartender started to clean out another customer's glass when he saw the large noose that Inuyasha wore on his person. "If you don't mind me asking, stranger, what're you carrying that noose for?"

Inuyasha looked up from his drink. "This noose almost killed me… but it was supposed to kill someone else."

The bartender raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue. "Alright, whatever you say."

Sly swirled his drink a bit before turning to his friend again. "So, where to from here?" he asked, taking a soft sip from the drink.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess we'll head west from here. There's a railroad track about three miles in that direction. We'll hop a train and see where it takes us… and if it has anything valuable in the cargo compartments…"

Sly grinned. "We stuff our pockets. Good plan, we are a little short on cash right now anyway."

Inuyasha nodded and plopped down a few dollars for his and Sly's drink. "Here… keep the change."

The bartender nodded and took the money. As the two of them got up to go, a shot flew past them and shattered a few bottles on the shelf. "Don't move." The voice that had spoken was very ominous and dark.

Inuyasha and Sly didn't even need to turn to know the owner of that voice. "It's been a while, Shadow. What kept you?" Sly asked, his grip tightening on his cane.

The person that had spoken was a short black hedgehog with a few red streaks through his head spikes. He wore a hat over his head and a cape covered most of his body except for the arm that was currently pointing a large seven-shot pistol at them. "Trouble back in town… apparently, you weren't the only criminals with good bounties on their heads." Shadow the hedgehog, also known to most as the world's greatest bounty-hunter. He certainly lived up to that name. Like most mercenaries, he would do anything if the pay was good and the pay on Inuyasha and Sly was very, very good.

Inuyasha sighed gently and turned slowly, raising his hand. "How many times do we have to go over this? We aren't criminals, we are outlaws. There is a slight difference between the two."

Shadow chuckled gently. "Regardless, there is a bounty on both your heads that will keep me well fed for a good long while. As always, you're worth more alive, so I would prefer it if I didn't need to fire off this gun again.

Sly shrugged and looked around. Almost everyone had ducked underneath their tables or behind the bar in hopes of avoiding the crossfire that they were sure would be coming. "Yes, but we don't go down easily. You should know that by now. You've been chasing after us for how long now?"

Shadow closed his eyes for a second. "Two years, six months, eighteen days, four hours, seventeen minutes and thirty-three seconds exactly."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "A waste of time on your part. You know that you'll never get that time back right?"

Shadow shrugged. "The payoff is well worth it. Now throw down all your weapons and let's get going. I want to get my bounty before the day is up."

Inuyasha smirked and pulled out his twin six shooters, holding them to the side so it looked like he would toss them to the side. He suddenly whirled and fired off a single shot that almost hit Shadow's right hand. It would have too if he hadn't had exceptionally good reflexes. He jumped to the side, pushing down one of the tables while Inuyasha and Sly ducked behind the bar.

Sly looked at the bartender, who was rather startled with what was going on right now. "Is there a back door we could use somewhere around here?"

The bartender shook his head. "There's that door or through the wall."

Sly smirked and drew out his modified gatling. "Through the wall then. Cover me, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha nodded and peeked out over the top of the bar as Sly started to fire his gatling at the thankfully brittle wall of the saloon. Shadow fired off several more rounds from his seven-shooter, drawing out a second one in case he ran out of rounds for the first. Inuyasha returned fire, nailing the table Shadow was using for cover several times, but never managing to hit the hedgehog.

Sly smirked as he looked at all the bullet holes in the wall. He crawled forward and punched through the weakened wall easily. "Come on, Inuyasha, time to go."

Inuyasha nodded and fired off three more rounds, emptying one of his guns and crawled through the hole after his partner. They both got up and ran from the back, knocking two men off their horses and taking them, knowing they couldn't go back around front for their own horses.

Shadow growled gently and sheathed his guns, walking calmly out of the saloon. He could see the two outlaws riding out of town, just out of his range. "They're tricky bastards, I'll give them that." He sighed and walked over to the horses that they had abandoned. "I'll find them eventually…" he said to himself, untying one of the horses and jumping onto it as if it were his own. "This one will do, much better than my last one." He sighed and started to ride out of town, knowing that he could go at a leisurely pace. No matter how far a head start those two got, the world's greatest bounty hunter would find them.

Inuyasha sighed and looked up at the sun. "Alright, let's find that railroad. How are we doing on money?"

Sly checked his pockets. "I have thirty bucks left. What about you."

Inuyasha shrugged and motioned back at the town. "Spent it on that moonshine."

Sly nodded. "Alright, so lets just make sure we find a train with a good gold supply on board."

Inuyasha grinned and nodded. Of course, they wouldn't take all of the gold, just enough to make sure they could afford a few things here and there… like food, ammo, maybe an inn or two if Shadow and the law would give their case a rest for a few days.

They both gave their horses a small kick to get them trotting and headed off towards the afore mentioned railroad track. Inuyasha sighed gently and drew one of his pistols out from its holster and started to reload. Sly probably would have done the same, but he wasn't as skilled a horseman as Inuyasha and he wasn't so sure he could stay balanced with both hands off the reins of the animal. "It's a funny thing, Inuyasha. We tried for years to make a name for ourselves out here in the west and when we finally do, we just can't wait to get rid of them."

Inuyasha grinned again and sheathed the pistol. "Keh, that's fate for you… it just hates us."

In the old west, it was common for folks from other countries to find their way here, hoping to make a name for themselves through horse rustling or cattle raising, or peace keeping. Though they usually didn't get off too well since most folk in the west didn't have much of an eye for people outside of their province. These two had come far, very far, all the way from Japan in fact, to try and get a better start than what they had in their native country.

The first of the two wore a long red cape and had a bare chest. He was short and boyish, but his eyes were a fiery read and it was obvious that he commanded respect wherever he went. His lower garments were like that of a winter Kimono, long and elegant and very warm. If he was uncomfortable in the heat with them on, he didn't show it and though he didn't wear an upper Kimono, he still wore the traditional obi around his waist. At his sides hung two sheathed Katana blades that clacked gently as they walked into the town of Dusty falls. He frowned and looked up, his blue hair bobbing a bit. "Looks like someone started wreaking some havoc around here."

The one next to him, a female, had long golden hair with a few red streaks through it. She wore a full Kimono that was angel white. Like his lower garments, it was meant for winter, but just like him, she showed no discomfort in the heat around them. She was taller than him as well, by about a head, but still looked to be quite young. On her back hung a crossbow and a quiver full of arrows specially designed for this specific crossbow. They would work with no other weapon. In her hand she also carried what appeared to be a humble walking staff, though any seasoned traveler will tell you that there is more that meets the eye there. "Oh dear, I certainly hope that no one was hurt here."

The boy rolled his eyes and continued to walk into town. "Flonne, don't start. We both went through a lot of trouble to even learn how to speak this god-forsaken language to get here, so don't go and spoil it all now with your preaching of love and kindness, alright?"

Flonne pouted a bit. "Laharl, please, don't worry. I won't endanger our chances of a new beginning here unless it is absolutely necessary."

Laharl rolled his eyes again. "Trust me, it won't be." As they walked, the noticed that most people actually raised their heads to watch these two strange figures walk down the dusty road of the town. Laharl stared right back at them, which forced them to look away, but Flonne waved happily at them as if she had met every single one of them before. They answered her waves with blank stares and sometimes scowls, though this did not diminish the perky girl's spirits.

Laharl's eyes fixed onto the saloon, which was in pretty rough condition from both inside and out. "What happened here?" he asked, as if expecting Flonne to have an answer.

There was a slight chuckle from their left and both turned to see a black hedgehog standing there, arms crossed, staring at the saloon. "I'll tell you what happened, foreigner… Inuyasha and his partner Sly happened."

Flonned frowned and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? Inuyasha and Sly? Who are they?"

The hedgehog shrugged. "Those two are some of the craftiest outlaws you'll ever meet. They're wanted in almost every corner of the west for one thing or another, and they're damn good at what they do. They have a bounty on their head so large, we have bounty hunters coming in from the four corners of the globe just to have a crack at the two of them."

Laharl snorted a bit. "And who are you? An associate of theirs?"

The hedgehog shrugged and unfolded his hands. "The name is Shadow… I'm the world's greatest bounty hunter and I've been after those two for well over two years now."

Flonne frowned. "Two years and still no success. Oh dear, sir, you must be very disheartened."

Shadow chuckled and looked up at Flonne. "You're a lot more well mannered than most of the foreign scum that rides through here, though your friend looks like he could use a good lesson in humility. Listen, take my advice and go back to whatever piss-poor country you two came from. You won't find anything of interest here and I can damn well assure you that no one would ever hire you two for any kind of work." He walked over to his horse and pat the side of it before vaulting up onto it. He gave a small two fingered salute before he kicked his heels into the beast and rode off out of town."

Flonne frowned. "He certainly was an odd one."

The only reason Laharl hadn't made some sort of rude or bratty remark back at Shadow was because he had an idea that he was formulating in his mind. "Hey, I know how we're gonna make a name for ourselves here, Flonne!"

Flonne looked up at Laharl, her natural smile returning. "How's that, Laharl."

Laharl grinned and placed a hand on one of his swords. "We're going to find and take down these two outlaws, Inuyasha and Sly."

Flonne frowned. "But Laharl… we'd have to hurt them, wouldn't we? And besides, we don't even know where to start looking."

Laharl snorted a bit. "Flonne, what do you think that crossbow on your back is for?"

Flonne drew a blank face for a second. "Um… protection?" she asked, not even thoroughly convincing herself.

Laharl rolled his eyes. "It's for hurting people, Love Freak! Listen, that bounty hunter said that he had been chasing those two for two years, so I doubt he's giving up now! If we follow him, we might just run across those two and then all we have to do is kill or capture them before he does!"

Flonne gulped a bit and shifted to the side, not sure she liked the idea of harming someone else. "But Laharl, how will we keep up with him? He was on horseback and we have no horses of our own."

Laharl snorted again and walked up to two people who were just getting off their horses. With a single blow to each of their skulls, they both went down, knocked out. "I'm sure these two gentlemen wouldn't mind we get took these two for a bit."

Flonne gulped, but she wasn't about to argue with him. He was her master and she owed him a great deal, so who was she to argue with her master's wishes. "Very well, Laharl-sama… let's go then." She walked up and daintily lifted herself up into the saddle, trying to find a good position for herself, Laharl doing the same. "Laharl, have you ever ridden an animal like this before?"

Laharl shook his head. "No, but we'll figure it out eventually, now come on." He gave the horse a slap on the rump that forced it to rear back and take off, Laharl fighting to keep his balance. Flonne giggled and gently pat the side of the horse she was riding and it slowly started trotting after the blue haired boy trying to keep from falling off the horse ahead of them.

Fox sighed a bit as he blew a few notes into his harmonica, listening to the prattle of those two out-of-town law women yelling at the local sheriff for not realizing that two of the most wanted outlaws were right under their noses. His long-time friend and partner, Falco, sat across from him on another bench, simply staring through the bars at the scene. Those two had been apprehended about a month earlier for intercepting a large shipment of jewels from outside the country. By the time the cops had found them, they had already sold most of the jewels out on the black market and made a substantial profit off of them. Of course, knowing that they would likely be caught, the two of them were smart enough to hide the stash before the law caught up with them and they would only hang around here until the law either forced the information out of them or decided to hang them anyway. Either way, their current future's looked bleak, though they both knew they could get out of it easily. This wasn't the first time they had seen the inside of a jail cell and the way their luck had been heading, it certainly wouldn't be the last.

The two law women in question were Sheriff Carmelita, a fox anthro from down in Mexico, and her deputy, Kagome, a local Texan girl who had proven herself to be quite the sharpshooter. Carmelita was quite radiant in truth, long dark blue hair, a shapely form that she apparently wasn't afraid to show off, and an attitude that would either scare a man off or keep them coming back for more. Her weapon of choice, Fox noted, was a huge triple-barreled gun that extended about twice as long as a normal pistol though the way she held it when firing, you would think she was handling a small durenge. Deputy Kagome was also quite beautiful, raven-black hair, pale skin, her eyes almost black and bottomless, though she didn't flaunt her cleavage as much as her partner did. In fact, if she hid her face and went riding around, most would probably mistake her for a man. Her own choice of a firearm was a little less intimidating than her partner, but still rather deadly. It was a pair of antique pistols, the kinds that could only take one shot at a time and had to be reloaded with powder and shot manually before they could be fired again. However, according to reputation, she could fire of one bullet from one of those things and hit five people, whereas most around here could shoot of twelve bullets and not even hit the broad side of a barn at point blank range.

Currently, Kagome was just wearing one of her annoyed faces while Carmelita was just chewing the poor sheriff out for not realizing that he had Inuyasha and Sly Cooper in his town. "This is absolutely inexcusable! Those two are wanted all over the west and you just let them waltz in and out as if they were just tumbleweeds!

The sheriff threw up his hands, attempting to defend his pride. "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but those two hadn't committed any felonies here in Dusty Falls, so I had no reason to try and convict them. I'm not interested in any rewards and as long as they don't make trouble here, let them do as they please and let the bounty hunters do as they please with them."

Kagome sighed gently and shrugged. "Carmelita, it'll do no good to try and scold someone like him, just come on. If we hurry we can catch up with them before they hit the railroad a ways away from here, but that's only if we leave now. Come on!"

Carmelita growled a bit, but nodded and gave one last glare to the sheriff before running out with Kagome and jumping onto her hoarse to run off after Sly and Inuyasha.

Fox gave a low whistle. "Quite a pair of lookers, those two, huh sheriff?" he asked with a grin.

The sheriff, naturally a nice guy, liked making conversation with his prisoners. "Yeah, they may be, but those two ain't gonna be tamed by any man any time soon, boy, you mark my words. They have some sort of mouths on them, I'm surprised that ladies like them would even know some of the words they were using when they first walked in here."

Fox chuckled and pocketed his harmonica. "So, how long do you suppose we'll be in here?" he asked, just for the sake of conversation. Falco didn't talk much to begin with and when he did talk, it was either just egotistic nothing or very depressing to hear.

The sheriff shrugged. "Either until you feel like telling me where you stashed all that moolah of yours or someone bails you two out."

Fox nodded and gave Falco who grinned right back knowing that they would be out of here in about three… two… one…

There was a huge crash as the back wall of the sheriff's office, also the town jail was pulled right off the building. The sheriff, surprised by this, jumped up and tried to fumble for his keys, but Falco and Fox were already running right through the resulting hole. Outside, on a large black horse sat a blue furred vixen. She wore Indian clothing, as opposed to the cowboy garbs that Fox and Falco were wearing. She grinned a bit and tossed them each their respective weapons. Fox held up his guns and smirked a bit. His choice of weapon was two six shooters that he himself had modified expertly to add on four more bullet slots to each, effectively turning the two guns into ten-shot guns, something unheard of to most. Falco's weapon wasn't modified, but it spoke for itself. He had aquired from a governmental testing facility something that they called a beta sniper rifle. It was supposed to be able to pick off enemies from a much greater distance than an ordinary gun and with his already sharp eyes, there was almost nothing he couldn't hit with this thing. He sheathed it over his back and chuckled a bit as the vixen drew on the reins of two other horses, one pure white and the other a gentle golden brown.

Fox jumped onto the brown one while Falco hopped onto the white one. Fox grinned and gave the thumbs up to the vixen. "Thanks for holding our guns and busting us out of there, Krystal."

Krystal, though she was not well-versed in the English language, she smiled and nodded, catching enough of the words to know he was thanking her. "Welcome…" she said, her voice heavily accented with old Indian dialect.

Falco cleared his throat and pointed towards the sheriff, who was bumbling towards them quickly. "Time to ride." Fox and Crystal nodded in agreement and together, all three of them rode off out of town before anyone could do a thing about it.

As soon as the town was out of sight, and with no sign of anyone following, Krystal turned to fox. "Where now?" she asked.

Fox shrugged. "We'll go back and grab out stash from its hiding place and then we'll see if we can track down those two outlaws. If we find them, who knows, we might just be able to convince them to join up with us and pull off a few heists here and there."

Falco shrugged. "Hey, you're the leader here, whatever you say goes."

Fox nodded. "Better damn believe it… now come on, let's get out of here!"

Tails sighed gently as he waited for Shadow to get back. The boy had been apprenticing under Shadow to be a bounty hunter for about a year now and so far, he couldn't help but feel as if he had been nothing but a nuisance to the hedgehog. He knew he was a good shot with a single-barrel shotgun, though, and could easily pick off anything with it, even on the fly, which was impressive given his small stature and young age. He was only twelve now. He poked the fire next to his pony, who he had named Velox, after the fabled Gothic horse who had been used by a hero of the Ostrogoths to cut down half of the Roman empire. Tails had never fit in back at home. He was smart, much smarter than most of the illiterate boobs that were found out in the west and his accuracy only added to his alienation from others. He was good with animals, though, and easily befriended Velox, who had been thought untamable at the time. He had actually participated in a few jobs with Shadow, but mostly right now, Shadow was trying to teach him everything there was to know about tracking prey and how to survive out in the dessert if he was on his own and everything. Tails couldn't complain. He got nervous in real-life situations when he actually needed to raise his gun against another creature. Why his father had convinced him to be a bounty hunter, he would never know…

He smiled a bit as he saw his mentor riding up on his own white stallion, appropriately named Shade. "Hi Shadow!" He frowned when he saw the look on his mentor's face. It was a sure sign of failure. "You didn't get them?" he asked as Shadow dismounted.

Shadow shook his head and sat next to the fire, taking out his gun and polishing it gently. "Heh, these two are the best chase I've had in a very long time. I've never taken so long to take down a bounty, though the longer you wait to take someone down, the more their worth."

Tails nodded and took out his own gun to polish it. "Shadow, we're getting low on money and supplies again." Apart from also being an apprentice, Tails was also the treasurer and made sure they had plenty of food, water, and flint and the like.

Shadow nodded again. "I see… we'll take a detour from our main prey then. There's supposed to be some sort of illegal mining operation going on a few miles to the north-east of here. A guy named Explosives McGee is holed up there and he seems to like causing avalanches on the settlements up there."

Tails choked back on shouting out how horrible that was and how urgently they needed to stop him. He had figured out pretty quick that Shadow wasn't interested in the aspects of good or evil when taking on a job. The only thing that mattered to a good bounty hunter was the pay involved. "How much is he worth?" he asked instead.

Shadow shrugged and set his gun and polish to the side. "If I remember correctly from the wanted posters, this guy's supposed to be worth twelve-hundred alive, six-hundred dead… and each one of his men we bring in are worth ten extra dollars alive or dead."

Tails gaped a bit. Twelve-hundred was a LOT of money, though it did pale in comparison to Inuyasha and Sly's combined bounties. "Okay! When do we start off for him?"

Shadow chuckled a bit. "You're certainly eager, kid. Keep this up and you might actually get to use that gun of yours this time." He stood up. "We'll cover a bit of ground today, make camp when the sun sets and then get into town below the mountain where Explosives and his men are hiding. We'll see how late it is then, and if the conditions are right, we'll head straight for McGee himself."

Tails nodded and got up, patting Velox's head. He frowned for a second, turning to Shadow. "Hey, Shadow… how come you decided to take my dad up on the offer for an apprentice? I'm obviously not really the best prodigy in terms of a bounty hunter and over the year I've known you, you haven't really made yourself out to be a guy that would take on any students."

Shadow chuckled a bit and looked over to the two tailed fox with mild interested. "That is an interesting question, one that I myself don't quite know the answer too yet." He snorted lightly and threw a small water bomb onto the fire to douse it. "Maybe I'm just getting soft in my aging."

Tails raised an eyebrow as he sat comfortably in Velox's saddle. "You aren't old, Shadow. You don't look like you're over twenty."

Shadow smirked a bit. "Don't let this fool you kid… I'm over sixty years old now."

Tails' eyes widened. "Over sixty! But you… you look so young, and the way you talk, not to mention the way you move and fight, it's as if time doesn't touch you!"

Shadow nodded. "I know. Someone must be looking out for me like this, but if it's god or the devil, I still don't know. Now, enough talking. Let's get to riding." He kicked the sides of his horse swiftly, causing the animal to whinny and take off. Tails followed suite.

Seems unlikely that such a band of would ever come together, doesn't it? They might not have known it at the time, but eventually, each of them will pass in and out of each other's lives and their destinies will become intertwined eventually. The spirit of the west drives them all on for different reasons, but fate places their pieces on the board and moves them to its whim.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

So, how was that for a first chapter, hm? Not bad I hope, this thing is fifteen freaking pages long! Grr, my fingers hurt!


	2. Hell bound

Hello all… thanks for the few reviews I got for this ficcy's first chapter. Here's the second one, but puh-leeze, no more one or two word reviews… I really need some good constructive criticism and 'interesting' or 'pretty good' doesn't help much. What can I improve, what did you like, what didn't you like? Help me out, please!

**Chapter 2: Whiskey bent and hell bound**

Inuyasha sighed gently as he waited for Sly to get back with their ammo. They had had the bad luck of running into a large battalion of Lawmen who were on their way to the town they had just headed out of. Neither of them had suffered any damage, but they had expended nearly half their ammo between the two of them. Seven of the sixteen lawmen in the battalion were dead and gone now, three of them suffering only injuries that would leave at least two out of three of them unable to walk or lift a gun ever again. A large bottle of whiskey was in Inuyasha's hands and he took large swigs from it as the seconds dwindled by. They had made it to the station where they sold supplies and ammo, the train scheduled to leave any minute now. "Damn it, where are you Sly?" he asked, his voice not the least bit slurred even though he had consumed nearly two thirds of the bottle in his hand.

Sly chuckled and walked out. "Here I am." He tossed Inuyasha a few bags of normal six shooter bullets and kept some large gatling bullets for himself. "We're gonna want to get on that train soon… I didn't exactly get this ammo in the legit sense."

Inuyasha chuckled a bit and ran over to the train, the two horses simply sitting there, waiting for their new masters to ride them, though they would never be mounted by these two particular riders again. Sly and Inuyasha simply left them tied, jumping into one of the less stuffed boxcars, one that was filled with hay here and there, a few suitcases with nothing of real value in them.

As the two of them jumped in, the final whistle blew and the wheels of the locomotive started to turn, making the hulking machine lumber forward, slowly at first, but quickly gaining momentum as it rumbled further down the tracks and away from the station. Sly and Inuyasha closed the doors and made themselves comfortable, several large hose in the roof letting in enough light for them to see each other clearly as if there were not roof or walls at all. Inuyasha went to work immediately reloading his pistols.

Sly chuckled a bit. "Sometimes I just think you're paranoid, Inuyasha. No one even knows we're on this train, no need to be so cautious."

Inuyasha grunted and cocked one of the pistols quickly, spinning it in his hand before sheathing it in its holster. "You've lived in the west for your whole life and yet you act as if there's noting to worry about anywhere. We have an expert bounty hunter and two law-women on our trail and you act as if we're meeting them for a picnic."

Sly shrugged and took out his gatling, casually slipping some of the large bullets into the barrels. "Meh, well, Carmelita is one girl I wouldn't mind taking out for a picnic."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he finished loading his guns. "Bah, she'll go on a picnic with you when hell freezes over and pigs fly."

Sly grinned. "Then there's still a chance!" he announced happily, continuing to load the bullets into his gun, clicking it back into place as the last bullet slid into place. "So, what do we do now? I know I don't want to sit in here this whole train ride, there might be something worth swiping on board."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement. "I know, besides, we need the money." He looked up at the gaping holes in the roof of the box car. "Okay, I'll hoist you up and make sure we're not close to a tunnel or anything, alright?"

Sly nodded gently and climbed up onto Inuyasha's shoulder, him grunting and cursing the whole time though he was easily able to handle Sly's light frame on him. Sly poked his head out through one of the holes and took a quick look around. "No guards, no tunnels… it's clear, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha nodded and pushed Sly up further so that the raccoon could get up onto the room. As soon as Sly was up, he turned around and lowered his cane to his partner, who grabbed it. Sly pulled hard and managed to get Inuyasha up onto the room with a bit of an effort. "Geez, you're heavy, man!"

Inuyasha snorted and got up. "Feh, it's just all the muscle."

Sly snickered. "Whatever you say… now, how far up on the train are we?"

Inuyasha looked from one way to the other and nodded. "We're just about in the middle. Alright, you head for the kaboos and I'll head up for engine room."

Sly nodded. "Alright, and the signal for help is to shoot three bullets up in the air, right?"

Inuyasha nodded and took out one of his six-shooters, rotating the barrel a bit. "Alright then… see you then, just try not to draw attention."

Sly nodded and clapped Inuyasha on the shoulder before turning and dashing down the train towards the kaboos while Inuyasha took off for the engine room.

Sly had an easier time jumping from one car to the other since the train was essentially moving in the opposite direction as him. Besides, jumping like this was an innate talent for him. At each car, he slowly lowered himself down over the side, using his cane to keep his balance to see what was inside. So far, nothing but clothing and some passengers… he was two cars away from the kaboos when he looked into one that seemed to have maximum security around it… that, in this time period, meant more than one lock. Carefully, he took out a sharp knife, something that he only used on occasion. He carefully cut away a large circle, large enough for him to crawl through on the glass, and let the circle fall away onto the tracks, the shatter not even audible. He quickly slipped through the opening and sighed gently, glad to be on solid ground again.

Carefully and stealthily, he walked over to the locked chest and drew out an old skeleton key he kept with him wherever he went. Slowly, he bent over the chest and picked each lock in succession, the chains binding the chest falling away as the locks came undone. Grinning, Sly opened the chest and whistled loudly as he looked at the contents. There had to be at least ten-thousand dollars in here, quite a bit considering the time period. Chuckling, he reached into the chest and drew out all the money, a few bills at a time, stuffing them into his seemingly bottomless pockets that covered his vest and pants. Then, not to arouse suspicion if someone came to check on this particular cargo, he closed the chest and rebound it with the chains as closely to the original as he could, resetting the locks and then silently slipping out the window. Of course, someone was bound to notice the neat hole in the window, but he'd worry about that when the time came.

Inuyasha himself was having a bit of trouble getting from boxcar to boxcar because he was headed in the same direction that the train was moving. Twice he almost lost his footing and any loss of footing here meant a loss of life as well. He finally managed to get a good distance up the train and sighed gently. "Damn, the things I do here." He chuckled a bit. What he was doing wasn't exactly illegal either. According to the laws of the west, a person was only chargable for robbing a train if it was an armed robbery because that was the only thought possible way to rob a train… at gunpoint. He knew better of course.

Looking over the side, much the same way Sly had done, he saw nothing of value through the first few windows. As he neared the engine of the train, he was starting to think that this was a waste of time. He was wrong however. His eyes widened as he came across an entire car filled with nothing but weapons and ammo. It was unguarded and one of the windows was already opened, probably to let out the smell of gunpowder, since it so heavily permeated through the room. Slowly, carefully, and not nearly as gracefully as Sly had managed, Inuyasha threw himself into the boxcar. Slowly, he examined each of the rifles and weapons in here. "Hmm… arms shipment to the law-enforcement representatives of the area…" he whispered, reading off of a label sitting on a package of brand new rifles. Grinning, he quickly tore open all the crates and packages, sabotaging as many of the rifles and guns as he could, scattering the ammo and stealing a good proportion of it.

His task completed, and feeling very satisfied that he had thwarted the law once again, Inuyasha crawled back out of the window, practically clawing his way back up onto the roof of the train. Needless to say, his return trip was much less stressful and much easier since he was traveling away from the train this time.

As he neared his starting point, he looked down towards the ground, smirking. There were three people on horses chasing the train. Either more train robbers or just some poor bastards who missed their train. He ducked into the boxcar and saw Sly standing there. "Hey there… any luck?" he asked.

Sly shrugged gently. "A few thousand dollars." He answered. "What about you?"

Inuyasha gaped a bit, but smirked. "Just sabotaged a whole shipment of rifles and ammo to the law enforcement officials around here… and got you a present." He tossed Sly a large bag of gatling bullets. "Thought you might appreciate even more ammo."

Sly smirked and picked up the bag, weighing it before placing it on his belt next to the rest of his spare ammo. "So, now we just sit here, right?"

Inuyasha nodded, but drew his gun. "There were three people on horses out there, Sly, chasing the train. Don't know what they're after, but from what I saw, there was a vulpine, an avian, and a blue-furred vixen, and she looked more like an Indian than anything else."

Sly frowned and turned towards the entrance to the boxcar. "How close were they to actually getting on the train?" he asked.

Inuyasha shrugged gently. "Almost there actually… but if they have any sense, they'll just try and trail it until we slow down."

Sly nodded and made sure that the money was secure in his pockets before he settled himself against some hay. "Alright then… now we wait…"

**OUTSIDE THE TRAIN**

Fox forced his steed to go faster, the poor animal barely able to keep up with this rigorous pace, same with the other two animals riding with him. "Don't worry, we're almost there."

Falco grunted a bit. "Why chase this train all this way?" he asked as they drew nearer the Kaboos.

Fox looked back briefly. "Because I'm sure that I saw Inuyasha and Sly get on board here. I've seen enough wanted posters of them to recognize them on the spot."

Krystal frowned gently and pulled alongside Fox. "Hurry… can't… go… much farther." She said, searching for the words a bit."

Fox nodded gently at her. "Alright, get ready." He pulled his horse right up alongside the train, grabbing the ladder that was on the side of the Kaboos and jumped onto it, his grip like iron. He quickly shuffled up the ladder and motioned to the other two to do the same. Quickly, Falco jumped to the ladder as well, his and Fox's horses, now riderless, relaxed and dropped off, stopping to catch their breath, the train quickly leaving them out of site. As soon as Falco was up on the roof, Fox motioned to Krystal, who nodded and jumped, nervous beyond belief. She gripped the ladder hard, a fear of falling overtaking her as she slowly climbed up to her two friends who pulled her up for safety's sake. They all panted a bit, the adrenaline still fresh in their system.

After they had all taken a second to breathe and relax a bit, Fox got up, holding his hat against the wind. "Alright, let's go… we'll need to hide out in this kaboos for the time being and when the train stops we'll go and see if we can find Sly and Inuyasha."

The other two nodded in agreement, not really feeling up to the challenge of jumping from one car to another at the moment. Fox easily popped the top of the Kaboos open and they all jumped down into it, sighing with relief. They were safe for the time being… provided that none of the engineers came in on them. But for now, there was nothing they could do until the train stopped…

**BACK AT THE STATION**

Laharl angrily slammed his fist against the desk in front of him, leaving a nice imprint of his how hand there. "What the hell do you mean the train already left!" he asked, leaning close to the man behind the desk, who moved away accordingly.

The man coughed a bit. "Sir, please calm down! The train left about ten minutes ago and the next one will be here in about another twenty minutes, but it isn't headed to the same destination."

Laharl growled and backed off a bit. "Then what good does that do us!"

Flonne, who had been standing to the side, watching and waiting, finally intervened. "Sir, please excuse my friend, he has a very short fuse. We were really trying to catch that train… can you tell us what time the next train headed for the same destination will be arriving?"

The man smiled, glad to finally meet someone with manners. "Yes, of course. It'll be here tomorrow morning at around seven."

Laharl clenched his fists again, but Flonne quickly spoke up before the poor man's life became endangered. "Thank you sir, we'll take tickets for that one."

Laharl's eyes flashed. "Flonne!"

Flonne sighed gently. "According to the information we have, even if we pushed our horses to the limit, they would die of exhaustion about a day away from wherever that train was headed, Laharl. A train is the fastest way there and if it takes another night of waiting, it's no big deal. Their trail will still be fresh, no?"

Laharl grumbled and crossed his arms, pouting like a child, but he had to admit that Flonne was right. No horse could keep up with a train for very long…

The man smiled and handed them the two tickets. "Alright, we're looking forward to seeing you on the train tomorrow."

Flonne nodded. "Thank you again sir… do you know where we could stay the night?"

The man frowned and shrugged. "Well, as long as you don't let the train bouncers catch you, you could sleep on the benches over there." He pointed over to a long row of benches.

Flonne thanked him again and both of them walked over to the benches and sat down, Laharl's hand still clutching the hilt of his sword a bit. "Such impertinence… now we're a day behind in our hunt…"

Flonne shrugged. "It cannot be helped, Laharl. Remember, patience is a virtue."

Laharl spat. "To hell with patience and all those bushido sayings! Those old ways have been dead for centuries, ever since the bastard Gai-Jin forced us to open trade with them, just like they did when they humbled china!"

Flonne's face went white a bit. "Laharl! How can you say something like that? We're samurai, we must live, eat and breath bushido!"

Laharl groaned and leaned back, his grip on his sword loosening. "To live is to die, to die with honor is to be reborn a samurai… heh, well, at least my father was good at cramming the whole code into my mind."

Flonne smiled a bit. His father had been an avid Sensei of bushido, teaching the code to whoever he could, trying his best to preserve the old ways, to save what little culture and grace we had not lost when the Gai-Jin started to trade and infect us. "Isn't it strange though… we despised the foreigners for the longest time, but now, here we are, in the very heart of their lands."

Laharl nodded and lifted a small water flash from his sash, sipping it sparingly. Water around here was expensive. "Mmhm… that is a rather large chance, I admit, being so far into their lands, but you remember what our life was like before, right?"

Flonne shivered gently, remembering her life as a simple beggar on the streets of Kyoto, always wondering where her next meal was coming from. His own past revolved around the fact that he was a low-class samurai with no chance of advancement. Forever a lowly half-breed, as some would call it. His mother had been a courtesan from a low-ranking house in Yedo and his father was a samurai of mid-rank from Kyoto. His father had died in battle against the war between the emperor and the Shogunate. His mother had committed honorable suicide, or Seppuku, soon afterward. He had been alone, only having his father's swords with him, and what little money his mother had left him. He had managed to find a job as a low-class samurai, but he was forever doomed to that life…

Flonne shivered again and nodded, sighing and sitting on the bench. "Yes, you are right… So sorry."

Laharl shrugged and sat down next to her, grumbling to himself. "It's alright. Now, let's get some sleep and get ready to catch that train in the morning."

Flonne nodded and lay back against the bench, closing her eyes, though her grip never loosened on her walking staff. Laharl did not immediately join her in sleep, waiting until those who were waiting for the next train quit staring at them and their strange clothing before leaning back and falling into a very light sleep, the kind that could be spoiled by a pin dropping too close to him.

**BACK ON THE TRAIN, IN ONE OF THE PASSENGER CARS**

Carmelita glanced out of her window for the fifteenth time. "Damn… I was so sure they would be on this train!"

Kagome sighed gently, shining one of her pistols gently. "Carmelita, please calm down. You know as well as I that, even in disguise, they wouldn't sit here in a passenger compartment, and knowing those two, they wouldn't try hiding with the luggage… too easy for an official to spot them. That, or they could have hopped the last train, or the train after this, we can't be sure, it was an educated guess that we chose this one."

Carmelita nodded gently at her partner. "I suppose so. Even so, it is frustrating, knowing that we lost them once again."

Kagome shrugged gently. "It's the life a low enforcer. Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you don't… we've managed to bring in every other criminal we've ever set out against… exactly what makes these two so special that they can evade us at every turn?"

Now it was Carmelita's turn to shrug. "I don't know, but that Sly… he may act like a gentleman, but he's infuriating, his politeness, even when I have a gun five feet away from his head, he acts like we're out on a date!"

Kagome giggled gently. "You think that's bad… That Inuyasha… he sure has some anger management issues. He and I get into arguments in gunfights over the most trivial and childish things. It makes me crazy just thinking about it!"

Carmelita chuckled a bit, something that was rare for her. She sighed and her head worked towards the window again, but she forced herself to stop. "No, must stop looking out there. It's as if I expect to see them right out there, riding right next to the train."

Kagome sighed gently and pressed a hand to her temple. "Maybe we should take a vacation when this whole business is through, Carm…"

Carmelita shook her head. "Crime doesn't take a break and neither do we."

Kagome sighed again. "Well, that's what I get for trying to reason with a workaholic."

Carmelita glared at her friend, But Kagome just giggled and sighed, looking back out the window as her friend had done so many times before.

**SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS**

Shadow cocked his guns and reloaded the bullets, cautiously looking down the mineshaft that was currently littered with the bodies of several outlaws who had gotten in their way. "Get ready kid… we're getting close to the end of this damn mine."

Tails nodded and quickly reloaded his shotgun, cocking it quickly. "Right… but if it's anything like the rest of this mine, we're gonna have some trouble."

Shadow grinned gently and held both of his guns at attention, moving towards the end of the mineshaft. "Maybe, but if we can get through the rest of this mine unscathed, I think we can take this guy out without much trouble." He chuckled as they reached the end of the mine, where they got their first look at Explosives McGee. He was a round man, both fat and muscular, wearing ammo from head to toe, armed with a rather oversized gatling gung.

He was talking to one of his cronies and their sharp ears were more than enough to hear what he was saying. "Alright, now make sure you be careful with all those explosives. I want them down into the depths of the mountain now. We'll blow the hole damn thing skyhigh and grab all that gold and coal for ourselves!"

Shadow smirked and bravely started to stroll out into the area that was stacked high with explosive barrels and excavation equipment. Tails was amazed that his mentor could stroll so calmly into an area like that, but he quickly followed, holding up his shotgun. Immediately, Explosives and his gang took notice of them. "I don't think you'll be doing anything like that soon, McGee. Dead or Alive, your ass is coming with us."

McGee laughed loudly. "Oh really? Well guess what, stranger, you ain't taking me without a fight! Come on boys, show em we mean business!"

Immediately, Shadow grabbed Tails' arm and dived behind the cover of a large stone near where they had entered. Almost immediately after, a large rainfall of powerful gunfire rained down on their hiding place. "Damn, semi-autos and snipers."

Tails frowned and gripped his shotgun tightly, his figure quivering. "W-what do we do now?" he asked quickly.

Shadow growled and looked out quickly. A lot of the fire was coming from Explosives himself. "Alright, I've got it… first things first, we need to take care of those snipers." He looked at tails. "Your weapon is better suited for long range firing. Pick off the snipers and I'll take care of the grounders. After we take out his cronies, go straight of Explosives himself."

Tails nodded with a confidence he didn't feel as he moved to one side of the rock, taking a deep breath. "Calm your senses, forget about the danger involved, trust your instincts and fire…" that had been one of the first lessons Shadow had taught him and this was the first time he would have to apply it. He quickly turned out from the rock, took aim and fired, ducking back behind quickly. There was a loud yell, like someone falling off a cliff. Tails smiled. "I got one!"

Shadow grunted, constantly shooting from around the rock, taking out enemy after enemy until the large field was starting to look like the mineshaft they had just come through. "Good to hear, but there are still more up there, kid! Take them out or we can't do anything about McGee!"

Tails quickly felt the thrill of victory leave him as he remembered the situation and he turned again, firing another shell. Once again, he heard another yell. He repeated this several times until he could spot no more snipers. "Shadow, I think that's all of them."

Shadow nodded and quickly reloaded his guns. "Good, we got them all… now come on, we've still got to deal with Explosives."

From their hiding spot, they could hear Explosives shouting, "What's the matter? You scared or something, Strangers? I ain't dead yet, but you'll be soon!"

Shadow chuckled gently. "That's what you think. "Tails, charge him."

Tails felt some of the color drain out of his fur. "Wh-what?"

Shadow frowned. "Trust me… charge him."

Tails gulped gently and his hand quaked a bit. "Are… are you sure?" he asked again.

Shadow nodded and sighed in an exasperated way. "Have I ever led you astray to date?" he asked.

Tails shook his head. "Well… no…" He gulped gently and cocked his shotgun. "Alright… Here I go…" He gathered every bit of courage that his small two-tailed form could muster and then gave a loud battle cry and charged, leaving the cover of the rock.

Explosives saw him coming and started firing rapidly, the shots coming dangerously close to Tails, but missing him. Tails kept charging, his shotgun raised. Tails fired. For a second, all action seemed to stop. Shadow stepped out of the rock and looked at the two motionless figures with a grin. "Good work, Tails."

Tails didn't really hear him. He was too busy gaping at the large hole in Explosives' chest he had just caused. Explosives looked down at the hole, blood running freely from it. "How the hell… did that happen?" he asked, falling backwards, limp and dead.

Tails fell back as well, clutching his stomach, feeling sick beyond belief. Not with the fact that he had killed something, he had gotten over that initial sickness soon after he met Shadow. It was the sickness he felt from risking his life like that. "Oh… god…" he said, pressing a hand over his mouth to try and keep himself from vomiting.

Shadow walked up and nodded gently. "Excellent. Now, let's get the body back into town and get our bounty. You did well, Tails. I guess I was right about him."

Tails frowned and looked up. "What? What are you talking about?"

Shadow shrugged gently. "Well, Explosives had no ability to aim, from what I saw. He was simply firing and hoping that he would hit something. That's why he chose a weapon with a rapid-fire feature. He was trying to make up for his lack of accuracy."

Tails felt a bit of anger rush through him and he stood up, feeling dizzy. "Then it was just a guess that he wouldn't hit me! You knew that you could have taken him down much more easily and you had me go out that and risk my neck!" This little outburst was what finished him. He turned and vomited.

Shadow remained impassive during this whole rant and when Tails started to vomit, he gently rubbed his back. "Listen to me, and listen good, Tails. Yes, it was an educated guess, a good one, but still a guess. There was a chance I could have been wrong and that you could have been killed, the same with myself if I had attempted it. But you are my apprentice. A bounty hunter faces danger and choices of this nature almost every mission. Say I had been the one to rush out there… had I died, would you have survived on your own, a half-trained bounty hunter?"

Tails frowned gently and coughed a bit, wiping the stray vomit away from his lips. "So it was part of my training?"

Shadow nodded. "Like it or not, the best way to learn is to be exposed to actual situations in which you will need to make decisions like this. In time, I'll stop pointing things like this out and you'll be on your own for a time."

Tails smiled and placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Thanks, Shadow."

Shadow grinned and sheathed his guns at last. "Keh, I was just doing my job, kid. I was paid good money to train you, and I've never left a job half-done. Now come on, we'd better get that damn body down the mountain and into town while it can still be identified."

Tails nodded and ran over to the body, waving away the large amount of flies that were already taking interest in the body. He tied a tarp tightly around it to try and keep the flies and elements off of it. Then, they tied a few ropes to his legs and started to drag him back the way they had came, ignoring the bodies of his buddies. Tails looked up at Shadow. "Shadow, I was wondering… with most of the bounties like this guy that we bring it, you don't seem to care if they're dead or alive."

Shadow shook his head. "I don't."

Tails nodded. "But then with Inuyasha and Sly… you've had dozens of opportunities to kill them outright, but you've never taken them."

Shadow closed his eyes for a bit. "Well…" he looked up at the sky for a bit. "Let's just say that maybe those two don't deserve death."

Tails looked at Shadow strangely, but let the subject drop, continuing to drag their paycheck down the mountain as the sun started to roll down the horizon.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Pwee, there's your second chappy folks! Gods, I'm trying to juggle about a bazillion things at once here. I've got a novel I'm working on that I wanna try and get published, I have a script to a comic I want to get done because my brother and I are submitting it to Tokyo Pop for their 'rising starts of manga' contest, and then I have all these unfinished fics to finish, along with all this school work! Oy! But thank you for the reviews for the first chapter, and please let me know what you think of this one and I'll get more chapters up whenever I'm able, ne?


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